Author Archive: ecmyers

Game Boy and all its incarnations and successors, from the Nintendo DS to even the Switch, are wonderful, but I’ve always wanted a portable NES. Yes, there are ways to emulate NES games on phones and handheld gaming devices (I’m currently using an R4i Gold card in a DSi LL), but I wanted a self-contained, dedicated piece of hardware that accepted the bulky cartridges and had only one purpose: to play 8-bit Nintendo games on the go.

The DreamOver the years I’ve seen Chinese knockoffs, DIY mods, and a couple of commercial products that basically do the trick, but they’ve never looked that polished and/or they were extremely expensive. Last month I decided to look again–and at first I didn’t find much on offer. The only real commercial product at the moment was Retro-Bit’s RetroDuo Portable, which is a portable Super NES with an adapter for NES games. It works, but it looks a bit unwieldy with the adapter plus a cartridge, and it received some mixed reviews; I also tried one at MAGFest, and it felt somewhat light and cheap, though I couldn’t test out the controller buttons because it was being used to run an NES music cart. Nonetheless, just as I decided to bid on a cheap one on eBay–figuring why not?–I learned that there was a new contender on the horizon: the Gamerz Tek 8-Bit Boy XL. I ordered it immediately, despite its $99 price tag, and I didn’t even have to wait long for it to arrive (though apparently it had been delayed a bit from its original Fall 2017 release date).

I’ve posted a video review of my unboxing and first impressions, but since then I’ve been putting it through its paces and testing some more games on it. My opinion hasn’t changed much–I really like it, and with some caveats, it’s pretty much what I’ve always wanted and could ever want. If you’re looking for a portable NES, and you’re willing to deal with a few compromises, this could be the device for you too.

I don’t usually bother with award eligibility posts, because I figure if you haven’t already read my story you aren’t going to track it down now, and if you have and think it’s worthy of an award, you probably already have it covered. But everyone can use reminders, and it’s kind of nice for me to run down a list of what I published last year since I can use the reminder too that hey, I may not be writing a lot these days, but I’m producing some work I’m really proud of that I hope people will enjoy. So, here’s some work of mine that was published last year!

I will be at Super MAGFest (Music and Gaming Festival) this weekend, Jan. 4-7, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, MD, talking about two of my favorite things: writing and video games.

I will be participating in two panels:

The Retro Aesthetic and the Power of AbstractionFriday Jan. 5, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
MAGES1 – Chesapeake G, H, I
Panelists: Vince Kuyatt, Luke Johnston, Oliver Surpless, E.C. MyersDespite the gains in graphical capabilities, games continue to turn to the faux 8 and 16 bit aesthetics. Why is this, and how does this form impact our playing experience? Why is it that games like Five Nights at Freddy’s intentionally switch between 8-bit and 3D rendering for specific moments, and what effects does this create in the player? How would games like Lone Survivor, Undertale and Beat Cop function differently with a different aesthetic. What can we learn about using the retro aesthetic to create a powerful response in our players? Come listen to a panel discuss our favorite examples of retro game design, and why we continue to love this aesthetic.

Gaming Writers: Translating Gaming Culture Onto the PageSunday, Jan 7, 10-11 a.m.
FORGE – Baltimore 3, 4
Panelists: Meg Eden, TE Carter, Luke Johnston, Lynn Almengor, E.C. MyersWriters will describe how games and gaming culture have inspired their original projects, how they break and subvert stereotypes about gaming culture, and why they turned to writing as a medium for translating their gaming experiences.

Let me know if you’ll be attending, and if you’d like to meet up, the best way to contact me is through Twitter. (I know, I can’t believe I wrote that either, but it’s true.)

Back in July, I reviewed Hyperkin’s Cadet Controller, a controller in the style of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) controllers; depending on which model you purchase, the controller is designed with different cables for use on the official NES and compatible clone consoles, the NES Classic Edition (Wii connector), and computers (USB connector). I posted both a detailed video unboxing the Cadet, trying it out, and opening it up, as well as a written summary with pictures. TLDR: I loved it.

I was surprised, nay shocked, given Hyperkin’s terrible RetroN 5 controller, and the track record of third party controllers in general–typically, the main thing companies fail at is in replicating Nintendo’s D-pad. No matter how faithful the recreation (I’m looking at you, 8Bitdo), they just can’t get it right even though it’s a little piece of plastic that has been around for more than 30 years. On the other hand, most companies can’t manage to fix the same audio, video, and compatibility problems plaguing “Nintendo-on-a-Chip” knockoff consoles that have been around for decades either.

What’s the problem with the D-pad? It seems the biggest issue is the size and shape of the pivot in the center of the D-pad. Without one, you can press the D-pad down and trigger every direction at once. With a crappy one, you will still trigger unintended diagonals, which is devastating to your performance in games requiring precision, i.e., pretty much NES game that isn’t an RPG, sports title, or board game adaptation–particularly in platformers and shmups that have tight controls. My usual test: Can Mario slide under blocks in Super Mario Bros. 3 easily?

The Hyperkin Cadet controller I reviewed in July, which I still use regularly, passed that test with flying colors. I liked the design, which is comfortable in my hands, and the A and B buttons are also snappy and responsive. When I opened it up, I found that the PCB was much higher quality than virtually every other third-party controller out there; where most use glob top on their board, that controller had an actual chip. I loved the controller so much, it actually replaced the Hudson Soft Joycard Sansui SSS as my favored NES controller, for a time. The only issues I had with the Cadet were the tight fit of its plug in an NES (it fits fine in a Hyperkin RetroN 5, which sounds about right), and the buttons were a little louder, which is only a problem when I’m live streaming.

Then a few weeks ago, user zedeighty commented on my YouTube video that the Cadet controller packed in with their RetroN 1 (Grey) didn’t work, and upon tearing it down they discovered it had a different board with a glob top!

I wish I had something positive to say about this controller but unfortunately the pad I got with my Retron HD was broken out of the box. I can’t get it to work with the clone it came with or a genuine NES (weirdly, the select button works but nothing else). Interesting thing is, I took one apart for curiosity’s sake and found that the circuit board inside mine is totally different to yours (it even has a glob top instead of a proper chip).

Note the glob top and different circuits on the button pads! It seemed clear that there were different production runs on the controller or a change in manufacturing. Perhaps the pack-in controllers with the consoles were cheaper versions for some reason, or earlier production models, or they’re made in different factories…???

But no. I happen to have a second Cadet controller; I had liked the first so much, I was planning to buy the black model when it was released in August, but then I won a contest on Twitter so Hyperkin sent me one for free! When it arrived, I had no reason to believe it would be different from the first one, so I didn’t do another teardown, and in fact I didn’t even bother testing it and didn’t have a chance to use it. So, inspired by all this new information, I cracked the seal on the black controller, opened it up, and discovered it does not have a glob top! It has a chip just like my first Cadet controller; however, it has an entirely different D-pad from my other Cadet. :-o

At first, everything looks okay and consistent with my other controller…

This is perhaps even more significant, because when I reassembled the black controller and finally tested it, I found it performs completely differently from the first controller: The D-pad on the black controller is so awful, it is basically unusable. Not only did it fail the slide test in SMB3 miserably, but I couldn’t even hold the Down button to make Mario duck for long. He kept walking to the right instead! That’s no good.

D-pad from the black Cadet controller, received for free from Hyperkin. Note the rounded pivot in the center, which actually looks like the one in an NES controller, and most third-party knockoffs.

D-pad from the white Cadet controller, produced at least a few months earlier and purchased from Castlemania Games. Note the narrower, almost pointed pivot. This is definitely a different mold.

Silicon conductive membrane from the black Cadet controller.

Silicon conductive membrane from the white Cadet controller.

Side-by-side comparison of the the two D-pads.

The fix for some of the third-party controllers with bad D-pads is to simply swap it with a D-pad from an OEM NES controller*. This is how I fixed my 8Bitdo controller, but it isn’t a viable solution for most people unless you have a broken NES controller to source parts from or are willing to sacrifice a functional one. (But why would you need a third-party knockoff if you have the real thing?)

I had a Famicom controller that was in very poor shape; the parts are interchangeable with NES controllers, so I swapped the D-pad into the black Hyperkin Cadet controller (but not the silicon membrane), and just like that, the controller works better! It feels a bit mushier than the white Cadet controller, but it passes the slide test. While I was at it, I swapped in the black buttons from the Famicom controller, and black Start and Select buttons from a repair kit, and it looks even nicer now:

I got the USB version, also different board, also crap Dpad (unreliable diagonals, plus down doesn’t register sometimes!). The sticker looked like it had been both cut and applied by someone very drunk.

So like, what is even going on here? It’s bizarre to see this much variation in a product, right? At the very least, it makes it impossible to recommend the Cadet controller because currently you have a 1-in-4 chance of getting a good controller–and that’s only the controllers designed for NES consoles. I haven’t seen any PCBs from controllers designed for the NES Classic or USB — who knows what you’ll get?

I had been hearing reviews and comments from people who had gotten bad controllers with their RetroN 1, but I had given Hyperkin the benefit of the doubt and assumed they were outliers — rare instances of faulty controllers, an “acceptable” amount of lemons you might expect from any new product. Instead, it seems the functional controllers may be the exception. (I’ll also mention that people have complained about the decal on the front of these controllers, which are sometimes unevenly applied or coming unstuck. My controllers are no different and have some weird indentations that while cosmetically unappealing, weren’t deal breakers. Still, they’re another indication of the wide range in quality you can expect instead of a consistent, reliable controller that should be identical to every other one manufactured and sold.)

This is extremely baffling and disappointing, because that first controller I got is great and I was happy to recommend it. It seems I was one of the lucky ones. I had even been considering picking up one of Hyperkin’s new “Scout” controllers for the Super NES. But now I have to warn you that you’re taking a chance when you pick up one of these, since the quality is inconsistent and quality control must be sporadic or nonexistent. It’s possible that as more people open these up, we may be able to find identifying markers on the controllers or packaging that may help you find a good one, or maybe we can get Hyperkin to comment (I haven’t reached out yet myself).

Or maybe we should just stick with 30-year-old original hardware.

Please comment below if you have anything to add, whether your own experiences with the Cadet controller, teardown pics of your own, or other observations and insights into the manufacturing process for these things!

*12/4/17, updated to add: Actually, not so simply. You have to snip out some plastic tabs from the circle inside the controller shell to fit the replacement D-pad, or cut away sections from the D-pad (which seems more destructive and difficult), in order to get it to fit. And the D-pad was too mushy and kept missing inputs when I hit down until I swapped in the silicone membrane from my 8Bitdo NES30 (which had previously been swapped for an OEM NES D-pad and membrane). So that’s not really a “fix” most people are going to want or be able to attempt.